Category Archives: Warehouse services

You may or may not be aware of the different value-added Houston warehouse services offered by companies such as Adams Distribution.

Yes, we do provide a variety of logistical services, but we offer general value-added services which contribute to the productivity and efficiency of your company as well. Take a minute to learn a few of the services we offer:

Promotional services. If you can’t handle the transportation and set up of your promotional materials, let us do the job. We can deliver and set up your items anywhere in Texas. If you need a special truck, or even a tent display set up, just let us know and we’ll be happy to do the job.

Kitting. Although this service is primarily geared towards retail pallets and shippers, our company can handle any product you have in place and merge the materials into a retail kit. Contact us if you are unsure whether or not we can handle your needs.

When you think of third party logistics companies, you typically think of a generic picture of a full warehouse, and a company with a fleet of trucks available for shipping.

When you examine different logistics companies carefully, however, you can find some notable differences. So, when you are out and about looking for logistics companies to hire, keep in mind they may perform one or more of the following services:

Service developer. This type of company offers everything standard third party logistics companies offer, plus a number of value added services. The value added services offered might include unique security systems, custom packaging, and tracking and tracing.

Customer adapter. This company type completely take over your logistics activities. They can greatly enhance your efficiency, but don’t develop a new service.

Customer developer. This type of logistics provider is similar to the customer adapter type, but performs services requiring much greater detail and attention.

When you hire your next logistics company, you now know the different types of services they offer. Which type are you looking for?

Some warehouse logistics providers are more geared towards private companies, while others specialize in public services.

Today, we’ll take a look at public warehouses, who can assist you with the storage of some of your personal stuff. Here are some of the advantages a stronger company brings to the table:

Online monitoring of your inventory. Cutting-edge companies allow you to check the status of your inventory online via their monitoring system any time, day or night. This flexibility provides you with the mental reliability and security you need to get a good night’s sleep.

One point of contact for all transportation services. A great public warehouse keeps a fleet of transportation vehicles handy to transport your inventory when needed. It also works with a number of contract companies, who can help handle overflow if needed.

A strong network of transportation suppliers. In addition to having transportation always covered, you can rest assured it’s always covered at a great price. With a strong network of contacts, you can rest assured public warehouses know which transportation company can do the best job for the best price.

As you go out and about researching various logistics companies, you will notice a wide variety of quality, speaking in terms of service capability.

At first, you won’t notice it because you aren’t experienced enough to discriminate good from bad. But, here are a couple traits to look for which indicate companies are good ones:

Listening.

How well are they identifying and clarifying your needs? Are they more focused on those, or are they trying to push a product or service on you that you don’t really need at this moment?

Standardization. Believe it or not, some logistics companies are susceptible to disorganization and chaos. How together do they seem to be when you talk with them? Or, are they confused or surprised when you ask them a question or make a request.

As you talk with different Houston warehouse companies, you will want to make sure they are guarded against some of the common dangers a warehouse can experience.

What are some of those dangers? Here they are in no particular order:

Electrical fire. Be sure to ask the company about their electrical wiring. Do they inspect it carefully, or have someone do it for them, on a regular basis? You don’t want your inventory to get incinerated unexpectedly!

Dock accidents. These are by far the second most common danger. Although one of these accidents won’t result in your company’s inventory getting totally annihilated, if a forklift, truck, or worker is careless or the victim of someone else’s carelessness, not only will he or she get harmed, but your inventory may be damaged as a result.

Sometimes you receive large influxes of inventory or need a little extra help performing light assembly, but you feel like you can squeeze it out on your own. You would rather save the money than have another contract with another firm. But, sometimes you have to do what you have to do and that might mean outsourcing some logistics services. Here are a few signs it might be time to do so:

Customers are getting upset. You don’t always have all the inventory in place, and you don’t always have it shipped when it should be. Clients and customers call you, angry you didn’t make the delivery on time.

You are close to violating OSHA workplace safety standards. Instead of knowing you are in compliance, you cross your fingers you don’t have an unexpected visit from OSHA. Those boxes are getting a little close to the lights!

You may be wondering what makes for a successful storage warehouse team. That’s a great point to consider, and like anything, it’s easy to talk about but difficult to execute.

In theory, this is how you would go about creating a successful team:

Hire self-motivated employees. Employees that don’t want to do their jobs will never be motivated by anything you do. You can praise, confront, or financially reward behavior, but those incentives only last for the short-term. Instead, it’s better to thoroughly interview people and determine who is motivated on their own to do a good job. Then, you develop a work climate where they can succeed.

Take responsibility when things go wrong. Blaming, punishing, and confronting are short-term solutions to long-term problems. These are appropriate in some circumstance, but more often than not, employees simply learn to avoid being caught and then slack off when the boss isn’t looking. If something goes wrong, the manager needs to take responsibility, and then be the first one to hand out praise when it is deserved.

Reward good performance. Employees who perform well, or teams who perform well, should be rewarded for their performance promptly and publicly. This can be done in a number of different ways. Try to understand which form of reward would work best for the employee, or allow him or her to choose.

While you are talking with a variety of companies offering their Houston warehouse services, there are a few different best practices you should be on the lookout for. Here are a few different tactics some of the best companies use:

The most frequently picked goods are placed nearest to the shipping area. This is done in order to reduce the amount of time it takes to move goods from storage to shipping.

A great company will review the movement of goods regularly in order to keep the most frequently picked ones nearest to the shipping area. Hard-copy picking should no longer be used. Warehouses that use tickets for picking should be avoided. Today’s technology includes RF readers and printers, pick-to-light, and voice recognition, greatly enhancing efficiency.

If the company you are considering isn’t using these industry best practices, avoid using their services.

Adams warehouse has been working with many of the trucking companies to reroute their missed appointments and fixed damaged loads.

The truckers stuck in Houston simply call or have their dispatchers call and after reviewing their needs we bring in the product and either restack or just redeliver to meet appointment times. We have handled many consolidation and pool distribution loads also. With a large fleet to handle Texas, Adams can deliver on our promises.
Adams Warehouse also offers partnering with several companies to have LTL shipments for Texas delivered to our facility for distribution to the customer or end user. If your company is in need of pool distribution, logistics, spares, secure services. Give Adams a call today!!!

With the high cost of fuel several customers are looking at alternative mode of transportation.

With boxcars or Railcars holding 3 to 4 loads per car, it only moakes sense to make the switch. Adams is located on both the UP and the BNSF lines to better service our rail customers. With over 20 doors to unload rail by daily Adams Warehouse is one of the best suited to handle any load. We have the ability to move and spot cars as needed which increases our productivity.

So if you are looking at rail services as an option, please give Adams Warehouse and Delivery,Inc. a call.